Pipe handling apparatus
A pipe handling apparatus includes a lower mast, upper mast, and trailer. The lower mast and upper mast may be pivotably coupled at a hinge point. The trailer may be coupled to the lower mast by a hydraulic cylinder. The pipe handling apparatus may be transported to a drilling rig and the lower mast mechanically coupled to the drilling rig. The upper mast may be pivoted relative to the lower mast at the hinge point. The lower mast and upper mast may be pivoted from the horizontal position to the vertical position by the hydraulic cylinder.
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This application is a U.S. non-provisional application which claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 62/367,977, filed Jul. 28, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD/FIELD OF THE DISCLOSUREThe present disclosure relates to a drilling rig and specifically a pipe handling apparatus for a drilling rig.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSUREWhen drilling a wellbore, a drill string is extended from the drilling rig into the wellbore. The drill string includes a bit at its lowermost end. The drill string is typically formed from a plurality of end-to-end joined pipe sections. As the wellbore is drilled, additional lengths of drill pipe are added to the drill string to increase the length thereof. The additional lengths of drill pipe, typically sections of two or three individual drill pipes known collectively as a pipe stand, may be stored vertically on the drilling rig. The pipe stands are typically placed standing up on the drilling floor supported by fingerboards at an upper position. The fingerboards separate the stored pipe stands into rows, and prevent the pipe stands from falling over. Typically, the pipe stands lean towards the back of the fingerboard.
SUMMARYThe present disclosure provides for a pipe handling apparatus for a drilling rig. The pipe handling apparatus may include a lower mast. The pipe handling apparatus may further include an upper mast pivotably coupled to the lower mast at a hinge point. The pipe handling apparatus may further include a trailer mechanically coupled to the lower mast by a lifting hydraulic cylinder.
The present disclosure also provides for a method. The method may include providing a pipe handling apparatus. The pipe handling apparatus may include a lower mast including a rig coupler. The pipe handling apparatus may include an upper mast pivotably coupled to the lower mast at a hinge point. The pipe handling apparatus may include a trailer. The method may include transporting the pipe handling apparatus to a drilling rig, mechanically coupling the lower mast to the drilling rig with the rig coupler and a coupling point of the drilling rig, pivoting the upper mast relative to the lower mast at the hinge point, and lifting the lower mast and upper mast from a horizontal position to a vertical position using a lifting hydraulic cylinder mechanically coupled between the lower mast and the trailer.
The present disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
In some embodiments, pipe handling apparatus 100 may be configured to be transported by trailer 101. In some embodiments, trailer 101 may be a rockover trailer having wheels 103 and trailer body 105. In some embodiments, pipe handling apparatus 100 may be transported within a wellsite and between wellsites by truck 107 using trailer 101. In some embodiments, pipe handling apparatus 100 may include upper mast 109 and lower mast 111. In some embodiments, upper mast 109 may be pivotably coupled to lower mast 111 at hinge point 117. In some embodiments, pipe handling apparatus 100 may include fingerboards 113 and pipe handler 115 as discussed further herein below.
In some embodiments, pipe handling apparatus 100 may be transportable in a collapsed position as depicted in
In some embodiments, to rig up pipe handling apparatus 100 to drilling rig 10 and position pipe handling apparatus 100 to an operational position as described herein below, pipe handling apparatus 100 may be transported to the wellsite at which drilling rig 10 is located. In some embodiments, pipe handling apparatus 100 may be transported to be proximal to V-door side 12 of drilling rig 10 as depicted in
In some embodiments, once pipe handling apparatus 100 is positioned proximal to drilling rig 10, truck 107 may be disconnected from trailer 101 as depicted in
In some embodiments, lower mast 111 may include one or more rig couplers 119. Rig couplers 119 may, in some embodiments, be connection points for mechanically coupling pipe handling apparatus 100 to drilling rig 10. In some embodiments, drilling rig 10 may include one or more corresponding coupling points 121 positioned to receive rig couplers 119. In some embodiments, rig couplers 119 and coupling points 121 may mechanically couple pipe handling apparatus 100 to drilling rig 10 such that pipe handling apparatus 100 may pivot relative to drilling rig 10 as discussed further herein below.
In some embodiments, as depicted in
In some embodiments, as depicted in
The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that a person of ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure. Such features may be replaced by any one of numerous equivalent alternatives, only some of which are disclosed herein. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. One of ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A pipe handling apparatus for a drilling rig transportable separately from the drilling rig comprising:
- a lower mast;
- an upper mast, the upper mast pivotably coupled to the lower mast at a hinge point, the lower mast and upper mast distinct from a mast of the drilling rig; and
- a trailer, the trailer mechanically coupled to the lower mast by a lifting hydraulic cylinder.
2. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a fingerboard.
3. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pipe handler.
4. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower mast further comprises a rig coupler, the rig coupler mechanically and pivotably coupled to a coupling point on a V-door side of a drilling rig.
5. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a positioning hydraulic cylinder mechanically coupled between the trailer and the lower mast such that the rig coupler is aligned with a height of the coupling point.
6. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 5, wherein the positioning cylinders is adapted to raise the upper and lower mast to be substantially horizontal.
7. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the trailer is a rockover trailer.
8. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper mast and the lower mast are substantially parallel in a lowered position or in a raised position.
9. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the upper mast and lower mast are substantially horizontal in a collapsed position.
10. The pipe handling apparatus of claim 9, wherein the pipe handling apparatus is less than 8′ 6″ wide and less than 9′ 6″ high when the upper mast and lower mast are in a collapsed position.
11. A method comprising:
- providing a pipe handling apparatus, the pipe handling apparatus including: a lower mast including a rig coupler; an upper mast, the upper mast pivotably coupled to the lower mast at a hinge point; and a trailer;
- transporting the pipe handling apparatus to a drilling rig, the drilling rig having a mast distinct from the upper and lower mast of the pipe handling apparatus;
- mechanically coupling the lower mast to a V-door side of the drilling rig with the rig coupler and a coupling point of the drilling rig;
- pivoting the upper mast relative to the lower mast at the hinge point; and
- lifting the lower mast and upper mast from a horizontal position to a vertical position using a lifting hydraulic cylinder mechanically coupled between the lower mast and the trailer.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein mechanically coupling the lower mast to the drilling rig further comprises aligning the rig coupler with the coupling point of the drilling rig.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein aligning the rig coupler with the coupling point of the drilling rig further comprises lifting the lower mast with a positioning hydraulic cylinder mechanically coupled between the trailer and the lower mast.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the positioning hydraulic cylinder is the lifting hydraulic cylinder.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the pipe handling apparatus further comprises a fingerboard pivotably coupled to the upper or lower mast, and the method further comprises pivoting the fingerboard into a deployed position.
16. The method of claim 11, further comprising mechanically coupling a fingerboard to the upper or lower mast.
17. The method of claim 11, further comprising mechanically coupling the upper mast to the drilling rig with an upper beam that is pivotably coupled to the upper mast.
18. The method of claim 11, wherein the trailer is a rockover trailer.
19. The method of claim 11, wherein transporting the pipe handling apparatus to the drilling rig is performed with the upper mast and the lower mast substantially horizontal.
20. The method of claim 11 further comprising after the step of lifting the lower mast and upper mast from a horizontal position to a vertical position:
- decoupling the lifting hydraulic cylinder from the lower mast.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Jul 21, 2017
Date of Patent: Mar 10, 2020
Patent Publication Number: 20180030788
Assignee: NABORS DRILLING TECHNOLOGIES USA, INC. (Houston, TX)
Inventors: Padira Reddy (Richmond, TX), Ashish Gupta (Houston, TX), Denver Lee (Houston, TX)
Primary Examiner: Lynn E Schwenning
Application Number: 15/656,894
International Classification: E21B 15/00 (20060101); E21B 19/14 (20060101); E04H 12/34 (20060101);